Something to ponder

An interesting quote from Judith Browne-Dianis came to my attention today, in connection with the suicides of Phoebe Prince and Carl Walker-Hoover after suffering relentless bullying. Judith Browne-Dianis is currently co-director of the Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization in Washington D.C. Her work on discipline policies in public schools has received national recognition.

She said: "Misguided use of 'zero tolerance' school discipline and high-stakes testing poses a serious threat to the educational opportunities of America's youth. While they are usually considered separately, these two policies are actually closely related. Together, zero tolerance and high-stakes testing have turned schools into hostile and alienating environments for many of our youth. The devastating end result has been a "school-to-prison pipeline," in which huge numbers of students throughout the country are being pushed out of school and toward the juvenile and criminal justice systems."

I'm sharing this with you because, again, it was a moment of reinforcement for me that at SK we have chosen a strong, positive path for our children. Supporting, nurturing and encouraging on an individual basis, avoiding punitive policies in favor of mediation and respect for all, and in academics avoiding comparative testing as much as possible, have powerful effects on our children's character development as well as their intellectual growth.

More Alumni News - Mathematical Maestro

Today, the mother of an alum student sent me this account of his continued adventures in the world of mathematics. She asked me to omit names (I don't think she wanted to feel as if she was bragging about her kid in public), but those of you who know him will probably recognize the description. This child was one of those SK kids who was in constant need of challenge and stimulation for his amazing math brain. I am posting his mother's account here, partly in answer to the question I am asked periodically: how will students who are racing in math at SK ever be able to cope with the boredom and repetitiveness of math that is not at their level when they leave? This is a living example of how one family makes it work, taking advantage of the opportunities this wonderful city has to offer, and keeping their astonishing math student inspired and challenged. (It also speaks a little to whether a low-testing environment like SK prepares students for tests after they leave.) The child is in 7th grade. He's an exceptional kid. But all our kids are exceptional, in their varied, different, constantly astonishing and individual ways.

"We've been very blessed that many opportunities have come by since our son became a Davidson Young Scholar (DYS). That includes many scholarship opportunities, as well as opportunities to take Math classes at the University of Michigan. Both his SAT scores (and numerous awards following them) and just being a DYS member have helped a great deal in establishing his credentials, including getting the permission to take U of M's most rigorous & demanding Honors Math program for the Math undergrads. He aced the course last semester, and he's been doing pretty well so far this semester too, and most importantly, he really enjoys the materials and challenges there :)

And yes, he's still currently doing his 7th grade at middle school, and both my husband & I are taking turn to take him to UofM for his classes, then drop him back at school after UofM. It's a lot of work, but luckily, we manage to juggle all these so far with our flexible work hours. We're just extremely thankful that both his homeroom teacher and principal have been extremely flexible and accommodating to allow us 'tweak' so much of his school-day in order to allow him the opportunities to take classes at U of M."

Save the date: Eudaimonia, June 5th!

Remember Eudaimonia, our fantastic book launch/silent auction fundraiser last May? We are doing it again! We'll be using the same warm and beautiful venue, the Ann Arbor Art Center on Liberty in downtown Ann Arbor. Imagine a beautiful arty building, filled with interesting auction items and a really gorgeous book display, and you and your friends having the time of your lives along with other parents from our school, teachers, alumni parents, and members of the wider community. Last year it was a blast. I'm really looking forward to it. (Note: this is a party for adults and alcohol will be served. Children will need to stay at home.)

(It's called what? Eudaimonia? I hear you ask. What is that word? Eudaimonia (you-day-moan-ia) is a Greek word for happiness, used by Jefferson as the meaning of the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence. The meaning as he interpreted it is human flourishing, self-actualization, knowing who you are and what you believe and having the courage to live according to your beliefs. We call our event Eudaimonia, because this is the kind of happiness we encourage our children to pursue at Summers-Knoll.)

The children have been working on illustrating another book under the guidance of our own Ruth (this is well on its way to being a tradition). This one is called "Salmon of the Sun", and it is currently at the stage of having illustrations and words put together into book format by the indefatigable James Marks (Amelia's father). Thank you, James! Just like "Moon Wolf" last year, "Salmon of the Sun" will be launched at Eudaimonia, and we will celebrate the creative vision of our amazing children.

Karen Bayoneto is managing the event, and has established a committee of wonderful parents that is currently putting a lot of work into gathering items for a really great silent auction. Last year it was a huge success, with amazing art work, great vacations, wine tasting and all kinds of other goodies. We'll be looking for your help! We all know people, and know people who know people, who could contribute something really fun for this, to make the evening a success and raise funds for the school. A packet will be going home to you from the parent committee for the auction detailing all the ways you can help.

So don't forget! Mark your calendars! June 5th, 7 pm, at the Ann Arbor Art Center! Celebrate our wonderful children, support this great school, and pursue happiness!

Billy Jackson, Alumnus

I had a wonderful surprise this morning. A former Summers-Knoll student came to visit out of the blue! Billy is currently at the University of Michigan majoring in Film with a minor in Mathematics. He had left SK by the time I arrived nearly eight years ago, but we had a lovely time this morning trading stories and looking around the school.

A brief background on Billy: he attended Emerson for Middle School, Pioneer for High School, and now he is at U of M. This is his first year at U of M, but he has entered directly into his Sophomore year because he covered so many accelerated classes at Pioneer, including a bunch of college math and science at U of M alongside college students. ("Math was always what I was best at when I was at Summers-Knoll," he said.)

I asked Billy how he fared with the transition from SK's small, warm environment into the larger schools he attended later. He said that, for him, he felt as if the transitions were stepped really well. From here to Emerson took him to a larger, but still very manageable size. Pioneer was a step up from that, at 3,000 students. U of M has 14,000 students, and he said smilingly that he is perfectly comfortable there.

So why Film? Well, said Billy, he had assumed that he would study Engineering at college level. He is good at math and science, and it seemed the obvious thing to do. But then he took a class in Film, and a passion was born. He lit up when he was talking about it, how it incorporates math, art, technology, philosophy, business, language... "All things I love!" He is writing a screenplay - a cool goal for a math and science guy.

Billy reminisced about various things from SK ("I was a trouble-maker! I spent a fair amount of time in the office getting to know Dr. Cole [the head of school at the time].") He also remembered a particular project - a self portrait with writing that everyone in his class contributed to a class book. I thought it was fitting that a student from this school would remember an expression of the community bonding which has always been so important to us here. "I still have that book," he said.

You may be seeing Billy this summer - he is a Taekwondo instructor and may be training young Jedi to channel the Force at our Star Wars camp - maybe also to make their own original Star Wars movie. He made an instant connection with the kids here at school; it gave me a huge kick to see this former student and our current students chatting together.

Welcome back, Billy! It was wonderful to meet you, and to reconnect with a member of our family in such an delightful and unexpected way.

Progressive Education and Project-Based Learning

As interested visitors come to look at our school and I walk around with them, looking into classrooms, explaining the way we work at Summers-Knoll, I often find that the conversation turns to the progressive philosophy of the school. It's always inspiring to see people take on the ideas and start to light up as they consider the opportunities that a truly engaged, connected approach to learning could offer their child. Sometimes they are concerned, also. This is an unfamiliar way of doing things to many people. They want to know - rightly - how they can be sure that their child will learn fundamental skills, or be tracked effectively in the learning process.

There's an article I'd like you to read here called Powerful Learning. Click on 'articles' and scroll down to the last one on the page. It describes some of the strategies and benefits that research has identified in the kind of learning we embrace here, much more eloquently than I could. It explains the importance of project-based learning and assessment. It was a welcome reminder to me of why we do things the way we do them, and I hope it will resonate with you too.

While you're there, the site that is hosting the article, the Watershed School site, belongs to an amazing school in Colorado which is the natural high-school big brother of Summers-Knoll. Its philosophy of progressive, community-based learning is deeply in tune with our philosophy here, and the web site does an excellent job of explaining why. If you have time and interest, it's well worth checking it out.

Happy reading!

Reaching out with compassion: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I want to pass this blog space over to Susan Carpenter for a minute. She and the rest of the faculty have been organizing some community service activities which we want to share with the whole community rather than on a classroom by classroom basis. I am very excited about these projects, both of which are beautifully connected ways to reach out within our school, within our families, and within our wider community to express support and love. My thanks go to our teachers, our students, and you our families, for your warmth and caring efforts.

This is what Susan wrote, to introduce you to the projects she and the other teachers are planning:

"Martin Luther King Jr. Day. is fast approaching, and there are a couple of very special activities afoot. Both projects are a way for children, families, and school to give back to their community, and to promote Dr. King’s message of service and peace.

Our first project is a way to reach out to our neighborhood. In conjunction with Trader Joe’s, Summers-Knoll children will be decorating 50 grocery bags with the theme “I have a dream of peace”. These bags were donated by Trader Joe’s and, after they are decorated, will be given back to the store. They have promised to use these bags during MLK weekend, to spread our dreams of peace to the wider community. Please consider thanking Trader Joe’s by giving them some of your business – and who knows? You may even get your food bagged in one of our masterpieces!

Another, rather larger and wide-ranging, project will involve you more directly. We will be making a school quilt for Project Linus. According to their website:

Project Linus is comprised of hundreds of local chapters and thousands of volunteers across the United States. Each volunteer and local chapter all work together to help us achieve our mission statement, which states:

'First, it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”

Second, it is our mission to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.'

Each child will receive a quilt square on Thursday, January 14. Over the weekend, families will be encouraged to do a “Day of Service” by decorating their squares with the theme “family love”. A more detailed note with ideas and inspiration will be attached to your square, but perhaps you could start thinking and talking about this around the dinner table. Later, all the squares will be joined and made into a beautiful quilt, and donated to give comfort to a needy child.

Thank you for being part of our amazing community."

Tears in my Eyes

Two things happened over the past twelve hours that made me tear up. The first was a Facebook status updated by a Summers-Knoll alumna, saying she 'really kind of misses school the Summers-Knoll way a lot.' It popped up on my Facebook page, and the tears just sprang into my eyes. It means so much that this talented, confident girl who is doing powerful things in her high school career stops and remembers us with the same fondness that we remember and think about her. She may be a Junior in high school, she may be winning prizes and exploring distant horizons, she may be on a fast track to save the world, but she is still our baby. :)

The second time I got misty was just a moment ago when a parent stopped by the office. She told me that she had been chatting with a Greenhills teacher, who brought some of his students here to do a Shakespeare workshop with Renata's class a short while ago. In the course of their chat he said to her, 'That teacher is fabulous, and you should be really happy about what's going on in that school.'

So it's lovely to be reminded that what we do has enduring importance for our children. It's lovely to know that other educators can come into this school and see the vitality and significance of our work. And it's doubly lovely that everyone - our visitors, our students, and you, our wonderful parents, are moved to let us know that you understand and care about the experience the children are having here. Thank you for the vote of confidence.